Welcome to the Special Collections Guide to Djuna Barnes

Djuna Barnes (1892-1982) was an avant-garde American artist and writer. She published several book-length works, but is perhaps best known for novel Nightwood (1936), a groundbreaking Modernist novel portraying themes of love, gender roles, and homosexuality.

Material from the Djuna Barnes papers is available to researchers in the Maryland Room at the University of Maryland's Hornbake Library. The finding aid for the Djuna Barnes papers is available online.

In additional to her personal papers, the Special Collections and University Archives holds her personal library. The cataloged portion of the Djuna Barnes Library contains nearly 900 titles which can be searched and browsed using the University of Maryland Libraries online catalog. The library was part of the collection purchased from Miss Barnes in 1973 and 1977, along with her personal and family papers, correspondence, writings, printed matter, and serial publications. The Libraries continue to augment these Barnes holdings through purchase and donation.

Inquiries about permission to publish the works of Djuna Barnes should be directed to: